Caity Lotz admits, “I didn’t really come in with huge expectations” when she was recruited by The CW’s Arrow last July, to play presumed dead Sara Lance aka crime-fighting Canary. Even so, the opportunity has proven to be “a lore more than I ever expected,” she shares with TVLine. “It’s a lot of fun to be a part of this show.”

Helping matters, no doubt, is the warm welcome the San Diego-born actress received by many of the show’s viewers — never an easy feat given how discriminating comic book fans can be when it comes to on-screen adaptations.

“They can be very protective, which is cool, because it shows that they’re involved,” Lotz notes. “So I guess I’ve been lucky that they’ve accepted me into their ‘crew.'”

‘RED’ ALERT | Reflecting on her run thus far — which as of Wednesday at 8/7c totals 20 episodes — Lotz appreciates the depth afforded Sara, who in addition to kicking ass alongside Arrow (played by Stephen Amell) and rekindling a once-illicit romance with Oliver enjoys rich relationships with the female characters as well, including estranged sis Laurel, Arrowcave colleague Felicity and, yes, the enigmatic Nyssa al’Ghul. In that respect, “The writers have done a really good job with Sara,” she affirms.

This week on the CW hit, the episode “Seeing Red” pits Team Arrow against one of their own, when Mirakuru’d Roy is perceived, by some, to be too great a threat to their cause, if not Starling City at large. Sara is at least one voice suggesting that Arrow’s super-strong sidekick needs to be snuffed.

“Sara and Oliver have seen this before, and Roy is just too far gone, so Sara thinks he needs to be put down, definitely,” Lotz previews. “She’s like, ‘He’s done. We’ve got to kill him.’ Boom!” — a stance that, of course, conflicts with Oliver’s particular vigilante policy. “He’s got the big ‘no killing’ thing, so yeah, that comes into play.”

RAGING AS THE MACHINE | Similar issues of morality play heavily in Lotz’s new VOD/theatrical release, The Machine, in which she plays Ava, a brilliant scientist who, upon suffering a tragic death, is reanimated by way of high-level AI that she herself designed. Thing is, ‘The Machine’ she becomes is under the purview of the Ministry of Defense, and thus is ultimately tasked with missions that run afoul of both Ava’s belief set as well as the AI through which she now exists.

“For me, the movie wasnt about ‘technology versus humans,’ it was more a look at our own humanity, and questioning that which makes us human and how far we’ve disconnected from that,” Lotz observes. “Are we redeemable?”

In creating her AI alter ego, Lotz drew a bit of inspiration from Michael Fassbender’s Prometheus robot, a rare exception amid the many “inhuman and emotionless” types portrayed across decades of sci-fi fare. “Because [The Machine] isnt emotionless at all. She’s very emotional. She feels a lot,” Lotz explains — a quality that puts her in direct conflict with her purpose as envisioned by the MoD.

An indie effort produced on a modest budget, The Machine nonetheless evokes a specific near-future, and thanks to “great” effects people, Lotz’s character is a tactile one sporting at-times translucent parts. Yet the more physical “effects,” as exhibited during assorted combat scenes, were a product of the dance-trained actress’ own hand. “I did all my own stunts,” she reports. “We didn’t really have time for rehearsals!”